October 2007 - Porsche Club of America â Northeast Region

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Four Speeds - continued from page 6 to him. I stopped by later that week and was shocked by what I heard. The collector had stopped by as planned but said that the Caddy needed more work than he thought but he’d drag it away for $250. I’ve tracked down a lot of cars over the years, bid on a lot and gotten a few. In all those years I have never dropped my bid by 90% in an attempt to steal something. If a car is misrepresented I just walk away. Fortunately the owner still had a $400 figure in his head and passed on the salvage offer. I promptly called Texas and a check for $2500 was on the way. The car was to be shipped to Dallas after the check cleared and the owner wanted to have the car in rolling condition. His thought was to go down to the local tire shop and get a set of tires to put on the car so that it could be moved easily. I suggested that we try to inflate the tires that were on it to see if they would hold air. I took over a good-sized air compressor, the kind that builders use to power nail guns, in the hopes that we could wake up the Cadillac. Looking closely at the fifty-year-old bias tires I could see cracks big enough to put my finger into. These old cars all had tubes in them (remember them?) back in the day and I was hopeful that without exposure to light or air they might still hold air — at least for a short time, as in long enough to drag it onto a flatbed. In 1953, Cadillacs were delivered with a full wheel cover that consisted of two heavy metal discs welded together with a large enameled crest in the center. They easily weighed 15 lbs each. Talk about unsprung weight! Those were pried off to allow access to the valve stem (I can’t believe that the hubcaps had to be removed every time you wanted to check tire pressures). Maybe that’s why so many people to this day don’t check their tire pressures. Their grandfathers taught them everything they know about cars. With the compressor up to full strength I carefully reached over and put the hose to the valve. I stayed off to one side so as to not catch bits of tire with my teeth if it blew. Like a vampire rising out of a grave at dark, the old Caddy raised itself up off the floor at one corner, and then another, and then another. With just 20 psi in each tire the old car was up on all four, level, and looked like it was ready to go for a drive. A lot of dirt and dust fell off the sidewalls and from under the chassis but this monster actually looked good. Nobody was more surprised than the owner as he stood back and looked at the Caddy in the same way he did when it was new. All those years fell away and only the memories of those sunny Sundays with his family riding in the back seat remained. The pick-up a week later had its moments; one wheel was frozen, the keys had been lost back in the’70s, two windows were down, and there was no way to stop it once it got rolling out of the garage, but the old girl soon found herself on the top shelf of a seven-unit car carrier on the way to Texas. As the truck rolled out of sight with its vintage ride on board I could’ve sworn that I saw a tear in the owner’s eye. He just turned to the house and said that it was late and he had to go in to fix dinner, his daughter was coming over. My guess is they’ll be telling stories about that Cadillac late into the night. It’s not just Porsche people that get attached to their cars. KTF Flat Sixer - continued from page 7 going to be available to instruct for a slight fee. Many people were already signed up to take advantage of this rare opportunity and it would be great to hear how they made out that day (hint, hint: maybe someone can submit an article). I did manage to catch up with George, who seemed like a very enthusiastic and enjoyable fellow. He was driving his red 944 that day, which is why I was unable to find him in the paddock. We had exchanged e-mails the day before so George had an idea of what I was looking to do. Basically the plan was to improve my input smoothness and work on driving my line no matter what. As always on our first trip out onto the track, George piloted the Green Machine the first few laps. Being the nice guy he his, George did not adjust the driver’s seat so we wouldn’t waste time when we swapped places. The first things George covered in the car were seat position and mirrors. He went on to explain that he would be teaching me the momentum line today. While we made our way around the track George was quick to point out how he wanted to see me drive the line. He gave me some distances to be off the apex of certain turns, and also when I should be thinking about braking and accelerating. The few laps he drove went by very fast and before I knew it we were trading places. Having been on NHIS earlier this year I had some experience to draw on when driving the track. There was a difference in the line I had learned in May from the momentum line I was learning today. George explained that some instructors will teach the racing line while he prefers the momentum line for students since it is a safer line. I was really enjoying myself and was amazed at how fast the morning went. George asked me if I wanted to go out with him in his 944 during an afternoon Red run group, and I said, ”yes” of course. So right after another great session I pulled my car up to where George was parked and we climbed out of my car into his. George had a six-point harness that I managed to get buckled into and then we were on our way. During our time on the track George drove the same line he was teaching me to show me how the momentum line could be just as fast as the racing line. It was a great time and I thanked him for the opportunity to be a passenger. Shortly before my final session George came over to where I was parked and informed me that I would be heading out solo. My first reaction was, ”wow this is great,” quickly followed by my second reaction: ”wow this is scary!“ George told me that I was driving great and that I had earned the privilege to go out on my own and that all I needed to do was what I had been doing the prior three sessions. He did let me know that he page 38 N O R E A S T E R
would be available if I needed him. When the time came to stage and get ready to head out, my adrenaline was flowing freely. I was thinking about all of the things George had imparted to me during the day. I was also visualizing each braking point, turn-in point, apex, and turn-out point; and finally I was thinking to myself, ”be smooth.” The session went off without a hitch and I truly enjoyed myself. I felt that I was able to drive my line consistently and smoothly. I even felt like it had been my best run of the day and I think George would agree. The last event was the fourth NER autocross of the year. This was held on September 8 th , which happened to conflict with our PorscheFest/Concours d’Elegance being held at the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation. The conflict coupled with the oppressive heat forecast for the day made for an extremely light turnout. In the end there were only 37 cars registered, which meant there were barely enough people to work the course. The course itself was another masterpiece by Mr. Mann. He had some interesting course designs, including a pivot that sparked much debate about the fastest way to take it. In the end it came down to driver preference and car limitations that determined whether going in on the left or right was the best way to take a pivot. There was one minor incident during the day where a 911 happened to lose a bit of oil around the track. The unfortunate thing was the oil was right on the line and had caused one car to break free of its grip in dramatic fashion. This halted the event for about an hour while some kitty litter was spread around the track. The other unfortunate thing was that the sun was blazing and it was ’Sahara hot’ — not a fun time to be standing out in the blazing sun or sitting in a hot car wearing a helmet. I am still sweating just thinking about it. The day actually finished up with everyone getting in eight runs and having us finished by 3:00 pm. Not bad considering the one-hour delay. The driver of the oil spewing 911 was none other than Bob Canter who recently had an article in the August NOR’EASTER on autocrossing. Well, given that he drives a 911 Targa and that I happen to have brought my trailer with me to the event, for which I received much grief from my good friends Cuan and Glen, I agreed to trailer his car to Chris Ryan’s house where he and Chris could attempt fixing the leak. All in all it was another successful month or so for gaining more seat time. It’s hard to believe that summer is over and we are well on our way to that dreaded winter period. I don’t know if I’ll be able to squeeze in any more DEs this year but I will make the last autocross event of the season. Hope to see many of you there or at some of our other upcoming events. N O R E A S T E R page 39
Page 1 and 2: DE Season Wrap-Up 2007 Annual Dinne
Page 3 and 4: VOL. 35 ISSUE NO. 10 007 OCTOBER 20
Page 5 and 6: A few not to be missed NER events a
Page 7 and 8: Flat Sixer John Bergen Another mont
Page 9 and 10: Check Your Mirrors Win Perry Quite
Page 11 and 12: well below 10 mph, Thomas’ engine
Page 13 and 14: ©2007 Porsche Cars North America,
Page 15 and 16: Tech Topics: A Primer On Your Porsc
Page 17 and 18: QUALITY PORSCHE SERVICE & REPAIR SE
Page 19 and 20: N O R E A S T E R page 19
Page 21 and 22: Another high point of this year was
Page 23 and 24: Instruction a key component at a DE
Page 25 and 26: had arrived and pulled the sloop of
Page 27 and 28: N O R E A S T E R page 27
Page 29 and 30: Full Concours Class Place Entrant Y
Page 31 and 32: “Shark Attack!” - some thirty 9
Page 33 and 34: Bill Nerney and friend prep his gor
Page 35 and 36: Classic Car Storage New England www
Page 37: Upshifting- continued from page 5 M
Page 41 and 42: Marketplace For Sale ’90 964 Carr
Page 44: The NOR’EASTER c/o Dave Weber P.O

October 2007 - Porsche Club of America â Northeast Region

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October 2007 - Porsche Club of America â Northeast Region